Newly discovered JFK assassination tapes made public

The public can listen to newly discovered audiotapes of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, 48 years after the tragedy.

The National Archives and Records Administration is providing public access to the recordings, which consist of conversations among individuals in Washington, Air Force One pilots and officials on board the flight from Dallas to Andrews Air Force Base following the assassination on Nov. 22, 1963.

The two-hour-and-22-minute recording, long thought to be lost or destroyed, was found “among other papers and memorabilia of Army Gen. Chester 'Ted' Clifton Jr., who served as senior military aide to President Kennedy,” according to a statement Monday from the Government Printing Office (GPO).

Clifton was in the Dallas motorcade when Kennedy was shot, and later on Air Force One, according to news reports.

The White House Communications Agency captured the conversations, and later provided the tapes to Clifton, according to the GPO.

“The recording includes references to new code names and incidents,” according to the statement. “Among them are a private conversation by head of the Secret Service Jerry Behn about the disposition of the president's body; an expanded conversation about how to remove the body from the plane and where to take it; an urgent effort by an aide to Air Force Chief of Staff Curtis LeMay to reach Gen. Clifton; and attempts to locate various congressmen from Texas.”

The recording is available to the public on the GPO’s Federal Digital System (www.fdsys.gov), the statement added. This is the first time audio content has been made available on the government information website.

"GPO is pleased to provide our digital services in partnering with NARA to make this important historical find available to the public," wrote acting Public Printer Davita Vance-Cooks.

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